Background: Nearly half of the new leprosy cases reported in Malaysia were foreigners from neighbouring Asian countries. Objectives: To determine the clinical characteristics of leprosy and its difference, among the Malaysian and the foreign patients Methods: This is a 4-year retrospective analysis of 75 leprosy patients who attended Hospital Kuala Lumpur Hansen’s Clinic. Variables included the disease clinical characteristics, clinical severity and the complications. Results: Foreigners accounted for 51% of total patients with mean age of 35.8 years. Malaysians presented at mean age of 40.8 years. The gender ratio (male: female) was 2.7:1 in the former and 2.3:1 in the latter. The Malaysians tend to present later (average after three years) to the clinic. The clinical presentations in both groups of patients didn’t significantly differ. Conclusion: In Malaysia. Leprosy shouldn’t be labelled as the disease of the immigrants. Social awareness on the disease should be equally highlighted to both locals and foreigners, especially among females.

Introduction: Skin is the second most commonly affected organ in SLE. Lupus-specific cutaneous LE(CLE) is classified according to Gilliam Classification into acute CLE (ACLE), subacute CLE(SCLE), chronic CLE(CCLE). CLASI (CLE Disease Activity and Severity Index) is an outcome measures to asses cutaneous activity Objectives: To study the correlation between cutaneous disease severity and severity of systemic disease using SLEDAI (SLE Disease Severity Index) and SLICC / ACR (Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics) outcome measures. Methods: Study design: Cross-sectional A total of 71 patients were recruited from Dermatology and Rheumatology Clinic from Kuala Lumpur Hospital, Selayang Hospital and Pusat Perubatan UKM. Study period was from December 2009 to August 2010. Study data were obtained from clinical history, examination, investigations and medical record review. Results: The mean CLASI activity/damage scores in patients with ACLE, SCLE and CCLE were 11.8 / 8.1, 22.6 / 17.2 and 21.1 / 22.1 respectively. The mean SLEDAI/SLICC scores in similar group of patients were 12.3 / 2.1, 6.8 / 1.6, 13.2 / 1.7 respectively. The cutaneous disease activity in patients with SCLE was found to be inversely correlated to systemic disease activity. The cutaneous damage in patients with CCLE was positively correlated with systemic disease damage Conclusions: Patients with SCLE, despite having high cutaneous disease activity, had mild systemic disease. Patients with CCLE whom had high cutaneous damage scores were more likely to have higher systemic damage, hence more thorough investigations to seek other organs damage, should be offered.

Introduction: Atopic eczema (AE) is a common infammatory skin dermatosis that is increasing in prevalence. However, it can present in various clinical presentations, which leads to challenges in the diagnosis and treatment of the condition, especially in a primary care setting. Te Clinical Practice Guidelines on the Management of Atopic Eczema was developed by a multidisciplinary development group and approved by the Ministry of Health Malaysia in 2018. It covers the aspects of diagnosis, severity assessment, treatment, and referral.